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Hiroshima is a Japanese metropolis that entered world history on August 6, 1945, when the world’s first atomic bomb used in war detonated 600 meters/2,000 feet above the city center.
Since 1945, Hiroshima has been rebuilt into a modern city with a vibrant city center, a great cultural variety and several sights. The most famous monuments and buildings are connected with the atomic bomb impact, which you still can see remnants of.
Hiroshima also has its temples, museums, shopping and tasty Japanese food. And then the city is beautifully surrounded by a nature that invites to tours on the water and in the hills around the big city.
The most popular excursion destination is the island of Mijayima, which is a wonderful boat or train ride from the city center. Here you can e.g. see one of Japan’s most famous landmarks, the torii at Itsukushima Shrine.
This memorial is probably Hiroshima’s most famous monument and is also known as the Atomic Bomb Dome or Genbaku Dōmu/原爆ドーム. The building stands as a ruin after the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima in 1945, and it is today included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The Atomic Bomb Dome was one of the only partially standing buildings near the center after the detonation of the atomic bomb that obliterated large parts of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The building had been constructed as an exhibition hall in the years 1914-1915, and it was built of stone in contrast to the majority of the city’s other buildings, which were mainly wooden buildings.
The exhibition building was almost directly below the detonation point in 1945, and therefore the pressure wave was smaller than elsewhere, and thus some walls and the dome of the house remained. The detonation site was 600 meters above the building and approximately 150 meters away horizontally, and therefore the structure could hold as there was basically only a vertical pressure.
In 1966, the city government decided that the ruin should be preserved, and a peace park was created around it. Since then, Genbaku Dōmu has stood as a memorial to the approximately 140,000 victims of the dropping of the atomic bomb in 1945, and as a ruin it is also a monument to the destructive forces and consequences of nuclear weapons.
Located in the center of Hiroshima, this park was created in memory of the victims of the atomic bombing in 1945 and to mark the fact that Hiroshima was the first city in the world to fall victim to an atomic bomb attack, with an estimated 140,000 deaths as a result.
Before August 6, 1945, the area of the park was the city’s busiest area, but that changed in an instant when the atomic bomb detonated at a height of 600 meters above the center. The once busy neighborhood was transformed into an open area where everything was destroyed.
The park consists of a large area with several buildings and various monuments. Among other things, you can see the so-called Atomic Bomb Dome and The Rest House, which also partially survived the explosion. One can also see various monuments and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is also located in the park.
The purpose of the park is, of course, to commemorate the many victims who were killed by the American dropping of the atomic bomb, but it is also intended as a place to preserve the memory of the destructive power of nuclear weapons and thereby appeal for peace in the world without a repeat of September 6. August 1945.
It is obvious to take a walk in the memorial park, where there are many sights that emphasize the message of peace in the world. The landmark is the so-called Atomic Bomb Dome/Genbaku Dōmu (原爆ドーーム), which is a former exhibition building that was partially preserved after the detonation in 1945, and the building has been preserved as it stood after the explosion. In the park you can also see the Rest House, another building that partially survived the atomic bomb in 1945.
In the middle part of the park there are several facilities around an axis, where from north to south you can see the flame of the Light of Peace/Heiwa no tomoshibi (平和の灯), the Cenotaph for the Victims of the Atomic Bomb/Genbaku shibotsu-sha irei-hi (原爆死没者慰霊碑), the main building of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum/Hiroshima Heiwa Kinen Shiryōkan (広島平和記念資料館), the Fountain of Prayer/Inori no izumi (祈りの泉) and the Mother and Child in the Storm statue/Arashi no naka no boshi-zō (嵐の中国母子像).
The Cenotaph for the Victims of the Atomic Bomb was dedicated on August 6, 1952, exactly six years after the devastation of the atomic bomb. The cenotaph’s shape is a symbol of protection for the souls of the bomb victims, and through it is a straight line to the Light of Peace and the Atomic Bomb Dome. The Light of Peace is a flame that has been lit since 1964, and it will be lit until there are no more atomic bombs in the world and the bombs cannot thereby devastate the Earth. In addition to the mentioned facilities in the large park, there are many other monuments and places that can be seen, each of which focuses on peace and the victims of the atomic bomb.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is a museum located in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The museum documents the American atomic bombing of the Japanese city on the morning of August 6, 1945 through interesting exhibits.
The museum was opened in 1955, and there are several different themes in the collections. Among other things, you can get to know life in Hiroshima before August 1945 and learn more about the US decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and the consequences that decision had. Here is also a model of the city’s destruction and themes of the consequences of the atomic bomb.
The memorial museum has been visited by many Japanese and foreigners over the years. The museum is visited by many Japanese school classes, and countless heads of state and other notables have visited the place out of respect for history. The visitors include Japan’s Emperor Hirohito, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru, Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, France’s Jean-Paul Sartre, Sweden’s Olof Palme and Pope John Paul II.
Hiroshima Castle is a residential castle that was built at the end of the 16th century. The beautiful complex was the residence of Hiroshima’s feudal lord, the so-called daimyō. It was Mōri Terumoto who built the castle in the Otagawa River delta from 1589 to 1599. At that time it was no major city and the area was called Gokamura, meaning ‘five villages’. With the construction of the castle, the site was renamed Hiroshima, and Mōri Terumoto moved here in 1591 and began his reign in the city.
The castle was built as a large complex with three concentric moats and a number of buildings in the area. The buildings were about 740 meters from the hypocenter of the atomic bomb in 1945, and the castle was heavily damaged by the bomb. After World War II, parts of Hiroshima Castle were rebuilt. Among other things, this concerns the central tower, where you can visit the city’s historical museum for the period before 1945.
The two outermost moats from the original site were filled in in the 1800s and early 1900s, and the old castle areas have been built on since then. Next to the preserved inner moat, you can today see reconstructed walls, towers and gate buildings, which give a good impression of the character and components of the old castle.
In the southwestern part of the inner part of the castle is the Shinto shrine Hiroshima Gokoku Jinja (広島護国神社). The shrine was founded in 1869 as a place to commemorate the victims of the Boshin War, a Japanese civil war fought in 1868-1869. The temple was originally located elsewhere in the city, but after being destroyed by the atomic bomb in 1945, it was rebuilt on its current site in 1965.
In the castle grounds, you can also see some trees that survived the atomic bomb disaster in 1945. These are a eucalyptus, a willow and a holly. You pass the two first-mentioned trees after going through the castle’s main entrance in the southern part of the complex. They stood approximately 740 meters from where the bomb exploded, while the holly stood approximately 935 meters away. There were a total of 170 trees that survived the bomb in the immediate vicinity of the detonation.
Shukkei-en is a beautifully landscaped historic garden in central Hiroshima. The garden’s history goes back to the Edo period in 1620, when Asano Nagaakira started its construction on the site that was at Hiroshima Castle. It happened the year after he had been appointed daimyō in Hiroshima and had thereby taken up residence at the castle. It was Ueda Sōko who, as Asano Nagaakira’s advisor and tea master, laid out the garden.
Asano Nagaakira’s old villa became the residence of the Asano family during the Meiji period, which began in 1868 and ended in 1912. The Japanese emperor also temporarily resided in the villa, whose beautiful garden was later opened to the public, before being donated in 1940 to Hiroshima Prefecture. Shukkei’s central location in Hiroshima meant that the garden was destroyed by the detonation of the atomic bomb on 6 August 1945, and subsequently the area was used, among other things, as a residence for refugees.
The Shukkei was rebuilt after the destruction in 1945, and it was reopened in 1951. The garden was laid out as a classic rambling garden with a compressed landscape that reproduces Japanese nature on a smaller scale. The central element of the garden is Lake Takuei (浿纓池), around which the garden areas were laid out and arranged. Today you can therefore enjoy the garden as a promenade with a tour of Japan.
The entrance is to the southwest, and from here a path leads to Seifū-kan, a Sukiya teahouse-style building. From here you continue around the lake in a clockwise direction. To the west is a forest area, Chōzen-kyo (超然居), and to the north you come to a mountainous region with a rugged coastline. You pass rivers that flow into small bays. To the east follows a mountain range with Mount Kifuku (祺福山). To the southeast there are landscaped gardens, a tea garden and paddy fields, and there is also a herb garden in this area of the garden.
Memorial Cathedral for World Peace is a Catholic church that is the seat of the Diocese of Hiroshima. The church’s formal name is St Mary Assumption Cathedral (被昇天の聖母司教座聖堂), and it was built in the years 1950-1954 as a memorial church for the victims of World War II and for the atomic bomb in 1945. Both the start of construction and completion took place on August 6, there were anniversaries of the detonation of the atomic bomb in 1945.
It was the priest Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, who after the war was able to get the support of the Pope and many other people from all over the world to build the church that Murano Tōgo designed. The cathedral was visited by Pope John Paul II during his trip to Japan in 1981.
The memorial cathedral was built from the rubble of the Noborichō Parish Church, which was destroyed by the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, and the mortar was made from the soil with ashes from the buildings destroyed by the bomb. In this way, the bricks with their rough surfaces cast shadows across the facade. The stylistic inspiration with the inclusion of a circular dome over the church and small cylindrical chapels on either side of the church space was inspired by Byzantine architecture, while there are stylistic features from traditional Japanese architecture in the interior of the church.
Rest House is a building that was located near the hypocenter of the atomic bomb in 1945, and it is one of the few surviving buildings that survived the colossal destruction of the bomb in central Hiroshima. Rest House was built in 1929, and at that time the kimono shop Taisho-ya opened in the house, which, unlike the neighboring building, was constructed of reinforced concrete.
In December 1943, Taisho-ya was closed to be used as an administration building for the then rationing of fuel. On August 6, 1945, the Rest House was 170 meters from the hypocenter, which destroyed part of the house that was above ground. The roof collapsed and destroyed the interior of the house before the rest was destroyed by the subsequent fire. However, the basement walls and concrete ceiling of the basement withstood the destruction, and Eizo Nomura survived the bomb by going into the basement during the detonation. Today, the basement has been preserved as it was after the bomb damage, while the rest of the house has been renovated and reconstructed.
The Rest House is now set up as a tourist information center with several things to see. This is where the Hibaku piano stands. The piano almost miraculously survived the atomic bomb in 1945, and has been played on countless occasions around the world since then as a symbol of the sound of peace. You can also see an exhibition about the history of the Nakajima district. Nakajima was the neighborhood that formed Hiroshima’s now-vanished center, and which has since laid ground for the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. A large model shows Nakajima before 1945, and here you can clearly see where the Rest House and other preserved buildings were located.
Hypocenter is a place in central Hiroshima where you can see a commemorative plaque that has been set up on the exact spot that was under the detonation of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. The plaque thereby marks the so-called hypocenter, and the bomb detonated approximately 600 meters above the site located at the current Shima Hospital.
The bomb was not meant to detonate in this particular location. The US used the Aioi Bashi (相生橋) bridge as a target, as it was centrally located and easily recognizable from the air. At 8:15, the Enola Gay bomber dropped the Little Boy bomb, which detonated after 44.4 seconds of falling in the air. And it happened at this place which was about 240 meters from Aioi Bashi.
Aioi Bashi is a distinctive and centrally located T-shaped bridge in Hiroshima. The bridge was built in 1932, and with its location and special shape, it was the target when the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
The atomic bomb Little Boy was dropped from the plane Enola Gay at 8:15 in the morning and after 44.4 seconds it detonated at a height of approximately 600 above the center of Hiroshima. However, the detonation did not occur over Aioi Bashi, but approximately 240 meters from here, which is marked on the spot.
The detonation of the atomic bomb is believed to have killed 140,000 people, and the center of Hiroshima was largely destroyed. Aioi Bashi was also destroyed, but it was repaired after the war and returned to service. In 1983, however, the bridge was demolished to be rebuilt as a copy of the original. The southern part of the bridge today leads to the northern entrance of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Mitaki-dera Temple is a temple founded by Kobo Daishi in 809 during the so-called Daidō era, which lasted from 806 to 810. The temple’s name means ‘Temple of the Three Waterfalls’, which is due to the fact that there are three waterfalls on the temple grounds , located in the hilly area of the Mitakiyama Valley northwest of downtown Hiroshima.
The entire temple area is very beautiful with its location almost in the middle of a forest. It is therefore also a very popular excursion destination, where there are blooming Japanese cherry trees as a sight in the spring and red leaves on, among other things, Japanese maple trees in the autumn. You can also see the three waterfalls, Taki (滝), Bonnon-no-taki (梵音の滝) and Yumei-no-taki (幽明の滝), whose water is used in the recurring peace memorial ceremonies in Hiroshima.
Mitaki-dera was 3.18 km from the hypocenter of the atomic bomb in 1945, and the temple was not destroyed by the detonation. Therefore, the site was used as a temporary aid station. The temple consists of several buildings such as the well-known pagoda, Mitakidera Tahōtō (三瀧寺多宝塔), which was moved here in 1951 as a memorial for the victims of the atomic bomb.
Fudōin Temple is a cozy and beautiful temple, and it is also one of Hiroshima’s old building complexes. The temple’s history is believed to go back to the 7th century, but today’s buildings do not date from that time. Fudōin largely survived the atomic bomb in 1945, being located approximately four kilometers north of the bomb’s hypocenter in the central city core. Thereby the temple is a time pocket from old Hiroshima.
When you come to Fudōin Temple, you first come to the entrance gate Fudōin rōmon (不動院楼門) from 1594, in which you can see the gate statues from 1294. After the gate is the temple’s kondō (金堂), which is the central hall. The hall was built in 1540 and is an example of the Chinese-inspired karayo style. You can also see the temple’s bell tower, Fudōin shōrō-dō (不動院鐘楼堂), from 1433 and the atmospheric temple garden.
Hiroshima Art Museum is a museum that was established in 1978 and has since then exhibited an exciting and varied art collection. The focus is on the 1800s and 1900s, with an emphasis on French works. There is also a collection of Japanese works inspired by Western art.
It was Hiroshima Bank/Hiroshima Ginkō (広島銀行) that, 30 years after the atomic bomb in 1945, provided funds for the construction of the museum building and for the establishment of the art collection, which was to be done as a symbol of peace. Today you can enjoy works by, among others, Delacroix, Manet, Monet and van Gogh.
It is also interesting to see the museum’s works by Japanese artists who, from the middle of the 1800s, were able to be inspired by the outside world after the opening of Japan. The artists primarily found inspiration in European art, and some took up residence in Paris. Today, there are Japanese works from the 19th and 20th centuries in the museum’s exhibition, where artists such as Fujishima Takeji and Kishida Ryūsei are represented.
The history of the shrine Ikari-jinja is believed to go back to the Nara period in the 7th century, making Ikari-jinja one of Hiroshima’s old shrines. The Shinto complex was then located on the banks of Hakoshima-sho, one of the sandbanks in the area’s delta. On the spot, vessels anchored to avoid rocks on the coast, and Ikari also means ‘anchor’ in Japanese.
As a result of this practice, a shrine was established on the shore dedicated to Ōwatsumi, the dragon-like Japanese god of the sea. The temple was once located at the anchorage, although today the coastline along the river delta has shifted. In the area there is a marking of where it is believed that ships were historically moored.
The shrine buildings themselves did not survive the atomic bomb in 1945, and therefore the site’s main building is a reconstruction. The building was completed in 1952. On the other hand, the shrine’s one lion dog, Komainu (狛犬), dates from the 1800s, and thus survived the devastation of the bomb. Shinto shrines traditionally have two lion dogs, with one usually having an open mouth while the other has a closed mouth. These are symbols of the first and last letter of Sanskrit, thereby representing the beginning and the end of everything.
In the grounds of the Ikari shrine, you can also see traditional torii gates and several trees that survived the atomic bomb in 1945. These are cherry trees and Japanese tabunoki trees. The shrine is particularly worth seeing when the sakura trees are in bloom and when the atmospheric lanterns are lit around New Year.
Hiroshima Transport Museum is a museum that opened in 1995 and focuses on transport and vehicles. You can therefore see a large number of models of cars, planes, trains etc., and here is also an interesting futuristic model of a future city with its possible transport solutions.
There are also effects of special interest, and the museum’s best-known vehicle is tram no. 654. The tram is one of the city’s old 650 series, and it is one of the trams that was rebuilt and continued to run after the atomic bomb in 1945. Tram no. 654 was in service on 6 August 1945 and was at Eba, which was about three kilometers from the hypocentre, when the bomb detonated. It ran again in December 1945 and was only taken out of service in 2006, when it came to the museum. In 2015, it was repainted from the long-standing operation to its 1945 appearance.
The Bank of Japan building in Hiroshima was completed in 1936, when the bank’s regional branch moved here. It was a European-style building in reinforced concrete with armored shutters. There are not many buildings in central Hiroshima that survived 1945, but the Bank of Japan building remained almost intact despite being only about 380 meters from the epicenter of the August 6 atomic bomb detonation.
On the 2nd floor, the window shutters had not been closed and that floor was destroyed by the bombing. On the other hand, the construction of the building and the shutters of the windows protected against destruction on the ground floor and on the first floor, and this meant that the interior remained relatively well preserved. However, all twenty employees at the bank on 6 August were unfortunately killed by the atomic bomb.
The bank branch was almost miraculously so well-preserved that it provided protection for the wounded, and just two days after the bombing the bank reopened for withdrawals, and in the building the destroyed branches of other financial institutions were offered space until they could reopen in their own premises in the spring of 1946. The building functioned as a bank until 1992, and the following year it was given the status of a so-called hibaku building, which is the term for houses that survived the atomic bomb. Today, the historic bank building is open to visitors.
Hondōri is a shopping area in the Naka-ku district, located in the heart of Hiroshima. Hondōri means ‘main street’, and Hondōri is also the name of the central shopping street through the area. The special thing about the street is that it is covered like a shopping arcade over a stretch of just over 600 metres.
Like most of the city center, Hondōri was also almost completely destroyed by the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. However, there were buildings that partially remained, and with the address 7-1 Hondōri, there is now a bakery in the former Teikoku Bank building from 1925. The bank building was damaged, but could be rebuilt and put into use again.
Hiroden is the name of Hiroshima’s trams, officially called Hiroshima Electric Railway Company/Hiroshima Dentetsu kabushiki gaisha (広島電鉄株式会社). The tram network’s first line was laid in 1912, and over the following decades the network was expanded to cover large parts of Hiroshima.
When Hiroshima was destroyed with the American dropping of the atomic bomb Little Boy on August 6, 1945, colossal damage was naturally also done to the tram network in the city. However, only three days passed before the first tram could run again in Hiroshima, and since the destruction the tram network was re-established.
Before the atomic bomb there were 123 trams, and of these 108 were damaged or destroyed. Three of the charred carriages became particularly famous, numbers 651, 652 and 653, which were restored and continue to operate in Hiroshima’s cityscape. The trams are part of what is called the city’s rolling museum. You can also see the preserved tram 654 at the Hiroshima Transport Museum.
Honkawa School was an elementary school built in downtown Hiroshima in 1928. It was the first reinforced concrete school building in the entire Hiroshima area, and the modern three-story building was equipped with a basement. The school was so innovative that it received great local publicity and was well known in the town.
The building was the closest school to the hypocenter of the detonation of the American atomic bomb that was dropped on August 6, 1945. The distance from the school to the hypocenter was just 410 meters. The reinforced concrete walls and the basement were the only things that survived the blast.
The basement and part of the original school building were preserved as a testament to the destructive power of nuclear weapons, and in May 1988 these became the Honkawa School Peace Museum. The old Honkawa School also has the status of a hibaku building, which characterizes structures that survived the 1945 atomic bomb.
Fukuro-machi School was a school building located only 460 meters from the hypocenter when the atomic bomb was detonated 600 meters above Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. It was thus one of the closest schools to the explosion, and 160 students and 16 staff lost their lives, while the wooden school buildings were instantly reduced to splinters and consumed by flames. Only the reinforced concrete shell of the school’s west wing survived.
After the bombing, the remains of the school were used as a shelter and temporary hospital for the victims. After renovations, the school reopened its doors in May 1946. The school continued to operate in the buildings until 2000, after which it had to be demolished.
During the demolition, messages written on the school’s walls by survivors from 1945 were discovered, and so Fukuro-machi School was preserved. It was opened as a museum in 2002 to preserve and display these messages as well as other effects from the bombing.
Miyajima is an island with the official name of Itsukushima (厳島), located in Hiroshima Bay in the Inland Sea of Japan between the islands of Honshū, Shikoku and Kyūshū. The popular name Miyajima means ‘Island with the Shrine’, and the Shinto shrine on the island is also the most famous place that visitors go to in a big way. However, there is also much else to see on Miyajima, which was already described by Hayashi Gahō in 1643 as one of Japan’s three most beautiful places.
Getting to Miyajima is easy and beautiful. You can either go by boat from Hiroshima’s harbor or by train to the small ferry that sails to the beautiful island from Miyajimaguchi in ten minutes. Already on the sailing trip, you can see that you are coming to a mountainous island, and nature dominates here. The majority of Miyajima is uninhabited, surrounded by many Shinto shrines, and in the mountains there are several viewpoints where you can enjoy a fantastic view of the archipelago in Hiroshima Bay.
The highest point on Miyajima is Mount Misen (弥山), which is 535 meters high. The mountain is sacred and overgrown with old forest. You can get to the top by a path that leads from the built-up area by the harbor to Misen, and you can also choose to take the Miyajima Ropeway (宮島ロームウエー), which brings guests to a point from where you walk the final distance to the mountain’s summit and viewpoint.
There are old stories about Misen, and they describe the seven wonders of the mountain. The most famous wonder is the Eternal Flame, Kiezu-no-Reika (きえずのれいか), said to have been lit by the monk Kōbō Daishi, who founded the temple Daishō-in (大聖院) at the summit of Misen in 806. Kōbō Daishi was also the founder of Shingon Buddhism, one of the main schools of Japanese Buddhism. The eternal flame still burns on the Misen, and holy water boiled over this flame is said to cure diseases. It was also from Kōbō Daishi’s flame that the fire for the Light of Peace in central Hiroshima was drawn.
The tales also say that the plum tree Shakujō-no-ume (錫杖の梅 しゃくじょうのうめ) came from Kōbō Daishi’s staff, taking root when he leaned on it. Several other trees and phenomena in nature at Misen have given rise to the remaining stories. The stories are exciting stories, and when you are at the top of Misen, you can also enjoy the lovely surroundings with trees and deer walking between the many and beautiful temple buildings on the top.
You don’t have to go to the top of Misen to experience Miyajima’s almost tame sika deer roaming among visitors. The deer are one of the natural experiences of a trip to the island, which is also a popular excursion destination when the sakura trees bloom in the spring and when the trees take on their beautiful autumn colors later in the year. These are things you can walk around and enjoy close to the harbor or from the paths nearby.
Miyajima’s temples are also worth seeing. Itsukushima Shrine with its famous red torii is the most famous, and many also visit the Daishō-in at Misen. You can also see the temple Daigan-ji (大願寺), which is immediately south-west of Itsukushima Shrine. It is a temple dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten and three Buddhas important in Shingon Buddhism. Among other things, Benzaiten is the goddess of prosperity and knowledge, and this temple is one of the three most important Benzaiten temples in Japan.
North of Itsukushima Shrine is the Senjokaku Pavilion (千畳閣), which was initiated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to house a Buddhist library. However, Senjokaku was never completed after Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death in 1598. During the Meiji period, Senjokaku was instead set up as a Shinto shrine dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Adjacent to the Great Pavilion is the five-story pagoda, Gojūnotō (五重塔), built in 1407.
Itsukushima-jinja is the name of a Shinto shrine located on the island of Itsukushima, also known as Miyajima. The shrine is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Japan, and it is not without reason that Itsukushima-jinja has also been included in UNESCO’s list of world cultural heritage sites. The shrine is also recognizable from many photos with the red torii standing in the water as one of Japan’s most famous landmarks.
The site is believed to have been founded in the late 5th century by Saeki Kuramoto during the reign of Emperor Suiko, but the shrine’s current appearance is attributed to Taira no Kiyomori, a prominent noble from the imperial court and later chancellor. He greatly contributed to the construction of the shrine during his time as governor of Aki Province in 1168.
Another famous patron of the shrine was Mori Motonari, who was responsible for the rebuilding of the main hall, the Honden (本殿) in 1571. The hall had been destroyed in a war against Sue Takafusa in 1555, and here Mori Motonari was said to stain the land of the island by to fight here. Spilled blood violated the strict taboos that were supposed to preserve the sacred purity associated with the Shinto shrine.
Itsukushima Shrine is dedicated to Susano-o no Mikoto’s three daughters Ichikishimahime, Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime, who were known as ‘the three female deities’, who in Shinto Buddhism are the goddesses of the seas and storms. Taira no Kiyomori believed that the goddesses were manifestations of Kannon, and therefore the island was understood to be the home of the bodhisattva. This emphasizes the religious significance of the island and the shrine, and in Japanese the word Itsukushima means ‘an island dedicated to the gods’.
Originally, Itsukushima was a pure Shinto shrine, “where no births or deaths were allowed to cause impurity. The island itself was considered sacred, and so ordinary people were not allowed to set foot on it throughout much of its history in order to preserving its purity. To preserve the purity of the shrine is so important that no deaths or births have been allowed near it since 1878. Thus women who are heavily pregnant, terminally ill, or very old, whose demise is imminent, must also withdraw from the island.
To allow pilgrims to approach the Iksukushima shrine, it was then built as a pier over the water, so that the place floats, so to speak, and is thereby separated from the land. The red entrance gate, the torii, was built over the water for the same reason. Commoners had to steer their boats through the torii before approaching the shrine.
It has been important to preserve the sanctuary’s twelfth-century architecture throughout history. The shrine was designed and built in accordance with the Shinden-zukuri style and equipped with the pier-like structure over Matsushima Bay to more easily allow visitors and to create the illusion of floating on the water like a seaside palace. The idea of intertwining architecture and nature was popular in the Heian period and again in the 16th century, when Japanese buildings followed their environment and often allowed trees, water and other forms of natural beauty to enter into the design of the buildings.
The most recognizable and famous feature of Itsukushima Shrine is the torii on the water. The great gate was built of camphor wood, and architecturally an extra leg is placed in front and behind each main pillar. That style identifies the torii of Ryōbu Shintō, or double Shinto, which was a medieval school of esoteric Japanese Buddhism associated with the Shingon sect. The torii stands in the sea at high tide and is accessible by foot at low tide. The gate has stood here since 1168, but the current version was erected in 1875.
The Shinto shrine and its architecture have many different parts. Seen from the torii, there is a central axis through the complex, with the primary buildings being the Haraiden (祓殿), where purification ceremonies take place, the prayer hall Haiden (拝殿), the sacrificial hall Heiden (幣殿) and the main hall Honden (本殿). Behind the Honden is the Fumyo-mon (玉垣門) gate, which marks the end of the shrine grounds. To the north of this central area is the Marado Shrine, which is made up of similar buildings.
Himeji is a large city located in the Kansai region of Japan. The city has been the center of Harima Province since the Nara period, serving as both the provincial capital and the seat of Harima Kokubun-ji Temple. After the Battle of Sekigahara in the year 1600, Ikeda Terumasa received an area in the province, and here he established the Himeji region under the Tokugawa Shogunate. Ikeda Terumasa ruled from Himeji Castle, and he expanded both the castle and the city around it.
Because of its strategic location dominating the San’yōdō highway between the Kinai region and western Japan, Himeji was an important stronghold of the Tokugawa shogunate throughout the Bakumatsu period. After the Meiji Restoration, Himeji became the capital of Himeji Prefecture from 1871. After the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, the Japanese government reportedly considered moving the country’s capital from Tokyo to Himeji, but this did not happen.
Kyoto is a wonderful city with countless temples, palaces, gardens and pagodas, and it is the historical and cultural stronghold of Japan. A visit to the city provides a distinguished view of the country’s earlier imperial history in the Edo era of 1603-1867.
The city was Japan’s capital before Tokyo, and all the grand palaces and temples are preserved in the streets and neighborhoods of Kyoto, which also offers all the amazing impressions of modern Japan. The special blend is unique, and Kyoto is a true must see if you want to get the best picture of Japan over the past 500 years.
3-2-1 Gion, Asaminami-ku
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2-1 Takaramachi, Naka-ku
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2-1-45 Ogi, Nishi-ku
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6-27 Motomachi, Naka-ku
2-2-18 Kamiyacho, Naka-Ku
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4-chome-1-1 Ishiuchihigashi, Saeki-ku
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2-8-17 Minamimachi, Minami-Ku
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Hondori, Aioidori
Mazda Museum
3 Chome-1 Shinchi, Fuchu
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Hiroshima Children’s Museum
5-83 Motomachi, Naka
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Asa Zoological Park
Asacho Dobutsuen, Asakita-ku Hiroshima-shi
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Hiroshima’s history as a city dates back to 1589, when it was founded by the powerful daimyō Mōri Terumoto. Hiroshima Castle was constructed soon after, and Mōri Terumoto moved there as a residence in 1593. However, Mōri Terumoto’s time in Hiroshima was short-lived, as he was on the losing side of the Battle of Sekigahara, where Tokugawa Ieyasu’s troops defeated clans and armies that were loyal to the Toyotomi dynasty.
Tokugawa Ieyasu deprived Mōri Terumoto of much of his land, which included Hiroshima, which was handed over to the daimyō Fukushima Masanori, who had supported Tokugawa Ieyasu. Fukushima Masanori ruled Hiroshima from 1600 to 1619, when the samurai and daimyō Asano Nagaakira became the new feudal lord of Hiroshima. Asano Nagaakira became the first of the city’s leaders in the Asano dynasty, which ruled Hiroshima until 1871.
In 1871, the han system of local and regional daimyōs was abolished, and thereby the form of government also changed in Hiroshima. Instead, the country transitioned to more centralized rule following the Emperor’s new rule following the Meiji Restoration. It was a time with a focus on, among other things, industrial expansion and a transition from an agricultural economy to industrial production and urban development. In Hiroshima, one of the government’s seven English-language schools was opened in Hiroshima, which became a significant port city in the 1880s after the expansion of the city’s harbor facilities.
In 1894, the railway came to Hiroshima, and tracks were soon laid to the city’s port, from where, among other things, military equipment was shipped for the first Sino-Japanese war, which took place from 1894 to 1895. During the war, the Japanese government moved to Hiroshima , and the emperor moved his headquarters to the city’s castle from 15 September 1894 to 27 April 1895. Incidentally, the first negotiations to bring the war to an end were held precisely in Hiroshima 1-4. February 1895. The following decades continued industrial development in the city.
Hiroshima grew steadily, and industry and logistics developed in step with the city’s role as an important port city. It was with its status as a major port city and also as the home of significant military units that Hiroshima entered the Second World War. They were aware of the city’s importance, and to minimize the risk of possible attacks with incendiary bombs, they cleared the area that could act as fire belts. However, this did not matter on August 6, 1945, when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city at 8:15 in the morning.
The consequences of the bomb were enormous and catastrophic for Hiroshima and its people. It is estimated that at least 70,000 died immediately as a result of the bomb, while radiation and other injuries brought the number to 90,000-140,000 after a few years. Over 90% of those killed were civilians and 70% of Hiroshima’s buildings were destroyed with another 7% having significant damage. The city faced unprecedented human and material challenges after the American bombing, and Hiroshima faced colossal reconstruction work.
Reconstruction was initiated with, among other things, support from the Japanese government, and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was established in the central part of the city. The park’s design was adopted in 1949, and the so-called atomic bomb dome, which is a building that partially survived the atomic bomb and which today stands as one of Hiroshima’s landmarks, was preserved. Many symbolic monuments were erected in the memorial park, and the city’s Peace Memorial Museum was opened in 1955. The destroyed Hiroshima Castle was rebuilt in 1958 as one of the city’s old buildings, but otherwise Hiroshima rose primarily in a modern version.
Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima, Japan[/caption]
Overview of Hiroshima
Hiroshima is a Japanese metropolis that entered world history on August 6, 1945, when the world’s first atomic bomb used in war detonated 600 meters/2,000 feet above the city center.
Since 1945, Hiroshima has been rebuilt into a modern city with a vibrant city center, a great cultural variety and several sights. The most famous monuments and buildings are connected with the atomic bomb impact, which you still can see remnants of.
Hiroshima also has its temples, museums, shopping and tasty Japanese food. And then the city is beautifully surrounded by a nature that invites to tours on the water and in the hills around the big city.
The most popular excursion destination is the island of Mijayima, which is a wonderful boat or train ride from the city center. Here you can e.g. see one of Japan’s most famous landmarks, the torii at Itsukushima Shrine.
About the upcoming Hiroshima travel guide
The Hiroshima travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Japanese city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
Hiroshima is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.
Read more about Hiroshima and Japan
Buy the travel guide
Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.
Use the travel guide
When you buy the travel guide to Hiroshima you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.
Itsukushima Shrine • Genbaku Dome • Skukkeien Garden • 6 August 1945
Overview of Tokyo
Tokyo is one of the world’s largest metropolises, and certainly one of the most fascinating with the mix of centuries-old Japanese traditions and modern Japan’s success, architecture and common use of technology that you will easily notice as a tourist.
There are approximately 30 million people living in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, and the vibrant street life is 24/7 in several places. Shopping and restaurants offering the tasty Japanese cuisine are of course great ways to enjoy Tokyo, as is walking the streets getting impressions.
About the upcoming Tokyo travel guide
About the travel guide
The Tokyo travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Japanese city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
Tokyo is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.
Read more about Tokyo and Japan
Buy the travel guide
Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.
Use the travel guide
When you buy the travel guide to Tokyo you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.
Memorial Cathedral for World Peace is a Catholic church that is the seat of the Diocese of Hiroshima. The church’s formal name is St Mary Assumption Cathedral (被昇天の聖母司教座聖堂), and it was built in the years 1950-1954 as a memorial church for the victims of World War II and for the atomic bomb in 1945. Both the start of construction and completion took place on August 6, there were anniversaries of the detonation of the atomic bomb in 1945.
It was the priest Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, who after the war was able to get the support of the Pope and many other people from all over the world to build the church that Murano Tōgo designed. The cathedral was visited by Pope John Paul II during his trip to Japan in 1981.
The memorial cathedral was built from the rubble of the Noborichō Parish Church, which was destroyed by the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, and the mortar was made from the soil with ashes from the buildings destroyed by the bomb. In this way, the bricks with their rough surfaces cast shadows across the facade. The stylistic inspiration with the inclusion of a circular dome over the church and small cylindrical chapels on either side of the church space was inspired by Byzantine architecture, while there are stylistic features from traditional Japanese architecture in the interior of the church.
Rest House is a building that was located near the hypocenter of the atomic bomb in 1945, and it is one of the few surviving buildings that survived the colossal destruction of the bomb in central Hiroshima. Rest House was built in 1929, and at that time the kimono shop Taisho-ya opened in the house, which, unlike the neighboring building, was constructed of reinforced concrete.
In December 1943, Taisho-ya was closed to be used as an administration building for the then rationing of fuel. On August 6, 1945, the Rest House was 170 meters from the hypocenter, which destroyed part of the house that was above ground. The roof collapsed and destroyed the interior of the house before the rest was destroyed by the subsequent fire. However, the basement walls and concrete ceiling of the basement withstood the destruction, and Eizo Nomura survived the bomb by going into the basement during the detonation. Today, the basement has been preserved as it was after the bomb damage, while the rest of the house has been renovated and reconstructed.
The Rest House is now set up as a tourist information center with several things to see. This is where the Hibaku piano stands. The piano almost miraculously survived the atomic bomb in 1945, and has been played on countless occasions around the world since then as a symbol of the sound of peace. You can also see an exhibition about the history of the Nakajima district. Nakajima was the neighborhood that formed Hiroshima’s now-vanished center, and which has since laid ground for the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. A large model shows Nakajima before 1945, and here you can clearly see where the Rest House and other preserved buildings were located.
Hypocenter is a place in central Hiroshima where you can see a commemorative plaque that has been set up on the exact spot that was under the detonation of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. The plaque thereby marks the so-called hypocenter, and the bomb detonated approximately 600 meters above the site located at the current Shima Hospital.
The bomb was not meant to detonate in this particular location. The US used the Aioi Bashi (相生橋) bridge as a target, as it was centrally located and easily recognizable from the air. At 8:15, the Enola Gay bomber dropped the Little Boy bomb, which detonated after 44.4 seconds of falling in the air. And it happened at this place which was about 240 meters from Aioi Bashi.
Aioi Bashi is a distinctive and centrally located T-shaped bridge in Hiroshima. The bridge was built in 1932, and with its location and special shape, it was the target when the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
The atomic bomb Little Boy was dropped from the plane Enola Gay at 8:15 in the morning and after 44.4 seconds it detonated at a height of approximately 600 above the center of Hiroshima. However, the detonation did not occur over Aioi Bashi, but approximately 240 meters from here, which is marked on the spot.
The detonation of the atomic bomb is believed to have killed 140,000 people, and the center of Hiroshima was largely destroyed. Aioi Bashi was also destroyed, but it was repaired after the war and returned to service. In 1983, however, the bridge was demolished to be rebuilt as a copy of the original. The southern part of the bridge today leads to the northern entrance of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Mitaki-dera Temple is a temple founded by Kobo Daishi in 809 during the so-called Daidō era, which lasted from 806 to 810. The temple’s name means ‘Temple of the Three Waterfalls’, which is due to the fact that there are three waterfalls on the temple grounds , located in the hilly area of the Mitakiyama Valley northwest of downtown Hiroshima.
The entire temple area is very beautiful with its location almost in the middle of a forest. It is therefore also a very popular excursion destination, where there are blooming Japanese cherry trees as a sight in the spring and red leaves on, among other things, Japanese maple trees in the autumn. You can also see the three waterfalls, Taki (滝), Bonnon-no-taki (梵音の滝) and Yumei-no-taki (幽明の滝), whose water is used in the recurring peace memorial ceremonies in Hiroshima.
Mitaki-dera was 3.18 km from the hypocenter of the atomic bomb in 1945, and the temple was not destroyed by the detonation. Therefore, the site was used as a temporary aid station. The temple consists of several buildings such as the well-known pagoda, Mitakidera Tahōtō (三瀧寺多宝塔), which was moved here in 1951 as a memorial for the victims of the atomic bomb.
Fudōin Temple is a cozy and beautiful temple, and it is also one of Hiroshima’s old building complexes. The temple’s history is believed to go back to the 7th century, but today’s buildings do not date from that time. Fudōin largely survived the atomic bomb in 1945, being located approximately four kilometers north of the bomb’s hypocenter in the central city core. Thereby the temple is a time pocket from old Hiroshima.
When you come to Fudōin Temple, you first come to the entrance gate Fudōin rōmon (不動院楼門) from 1594, in which you can see the gate statues from 1294. After the gate is the temple’s kondō (金堂), which is the central hall. The hall was built in 1540 and is an example of the Chinese-inspired karayo style. You can also see the temple’s bell tower, Fudōin shōrō-dō (不動院鐘楼堂), from 1433 and the atmospheric temple garden.
Hiroshima Art Museum is a museum that was established in 1978 and has since then exhibited an exciting and varied art collection. The focus is on the 1800s and 1900s, with an emphasis on French works. There is also a collection of Japanese works inspired by Western art.
It was Hiroshima Bank/Hiroshima Ginkō (広島銀行) that, 30 years after the atomic bomb in 1945, provided funds for the construction of the museum building and for the establishment of the art collection, which was to be done as a symbol of peace. Today you can enjoy works by, among others, Delacroix, Manet, Monet and van Gogh.
It is also interesting to see the museum’s works by Japanese artists who, from the middle of the 1800s, were able to be inspired by the outside world after the opening of Japan. The artists primarily found inspiration in European art, and some took up residence in Paris. Today, there are Japanese works from the 19th and 20th centuries in the museum’s exhibition, where artists such as Fujishima Takeji and Kishida Ryūsei are represented.
The history of the shrine Ikari-jinja is believed to go back to the Nara period in the 7th century, making Ikari-jinja one of Hiroshima’s old shrines. The Shinto complex was then located on the banks of Hakoshima-sho, one of the sandbanks in the area’s delta. On the spot, vessels anchored to avoid rocks on the coast, and Ikari also means ‘anchor’ in Japanese.
As a result of this practice, a shrine was established on the shore dedicated to Ōwatsumi, the dragon-like Japanese god of the sea. The temple was once located at the anchorage, although today the coastline along the river delta has shifted. In the area there is a marking of where it is believed that ships were historically moored.
The shrine buildings themselves did not survive the atomic bomb in 1945, and therefore the site’s main building is a reconstruction. The building was completed in 1952. On the other hand, the shrine’s one lion dog, Komainu (狛犬), dates from the 1800s, and thus survived the devastation of the bomb. Shinto shrines traditionally have two lion dogs, with one usually having an open mouth while the other has a closed mouth. These are symbols of the first and last letter of Sanskrit, thereby representing the beginning and the end of everything.
In the grounds of the Ikari shrine, you can also see traditional torii gates and several trees that survived the atomic bomb in 1945. These are cherry trees and Japanese tabunoki trees. The shrine is particularly worth seeing when the sakura trees are in bloom and when the atmospheric lanterns are lit around New Year.
Hiroshima Transport Museum is a museum that opened in 1995 and focuses on transport and vehicles. You can therefore see a large number of models of cars, planes, trains etc., and here is also an interesting futuristic model of a future city with its possible transport solutions.
There are also effects of special interest, and the museum’s best-known vehicle is tram no. 654. The tram is one of the city’s old 650 series, and it is one of the trams that was rebuilt and continued to run after the atomic bomb in 1945. Tram no. 654 was in service on 6 August 1945 and was at Eba, which was about three kilometers from the hypocentre, when the bomb detonated. It ran again in December 1945 and was only taken out of service in 2006, when it came to the museum. In 2015, it was repainted from the long-standing operation to its 1945 appearance.
The Bank of Japan building in Hiroshima was completed in 1936, when the bank’s regional branch moved here. It was a European-style building in reinforced concrete with armored shutters. There are not many buildings in central Hiroshima that survived 1945, but the Bank of Japan building remained almost intact despite being only about 380 meters from the epicenter of the August 6 atomic bomb detonation.
On the 2nd floor, the window shutters had not been closed and that floor was destroyed by the bombing. On the other hand, the construction of the building and the shutters of the windows protected against destruction on the ground floor and on the first floor, and this meant that the interior remained relatively well preserved. However, all twenty employees at the bank on 6 August were unfortunately killed by the atomic bomb.
The bank branch was almost miraculously so well-preserved that it provided protection for the wounded, and just two days after the bombing the bank reopened for withdrawals, and in the building the destroyed branches of other financial institutions were offered space until they could reopen in their own premises in the spring of 1946. The building functioned as a bank until 1992, and the following year it was given the status of a so-called hibaku building, which is the term for houses that survived the atomic bomb. Today, the historic bank building is open to visitors.
Hondōri is a shopping area in the Naka-ku district, located in the heart of Hiroshima. Hondōri means ‘main street’, and Hondōri is also the name of the central shopping street through the area. The special thing about the street is that it is covered like a shopping arcade over a stretch of just over 600 metres.
Like most of the city center, Hondōri was also almost completely destroyed by the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. However, there were buildings that partially remained, and with the address 7-1 Hondōri, there is now a bakery in the former Teikoku Bank building from 1925. The bank building was damaged, but could be rebuilt and put into use again.
Hiroden is the name of Hiroshima’s trams, officially called Hiroshima Electric Railway Company/Hiroshima Dentetsu kabushiki gaisha (広島電鉄株式会社). The tram network’s first line was laid in 1912, and over the following decades the network was expanded to cover large parts of Hiroshima.
When Hiroshima was destroyed with the American dropping of the atomic bomb Little Boy on August 6, 1945, colossal damage was naturally also done to the tram network in the city. However, only three days passed before the first tram could run again in Hiroshima, and since the destruction the tram network was re-established.
Before the atomic bomb there were 123 trams, and of these 108 were damaged or destroyed. Three of the charred carriages became particularly famous, numbers 651, 652 and 653, which were restored and continue to operate in Hiroshima’s cityscape. The trams are part of what is called the city’s rolling museum. You can also see the preserved tram 654 at the Hiroshima Transport Museum.
Honkawa School was an elementary school built in downtown Hiroshima in 1928. It was the first reinforced concrete school building in the entire Hiroshima area, and the modern three-story building was equipped with a basement. The school was so innovative that it received great local publicity and was well known in the town.
The building was the closest school to the hypocenter of the detonation of the American atomic bomb that was dropped on August 6, 1945. The distance from the school to the hypocenter was just 410 meters. The reinforced concrete walls and the basement were the only things that survived the blast.
The basement and part of the original school building were preserved as a testament to the destructive power of nuclear weapons, and in May 1988 these became the Honkawa School Peace Museum. The old Honkawa School also has the status of a hibaku building, which characterizes structures that survived the 1945 atomic bomb.
Fukuro-machi School was a school building located only 460 meters from the hypocenter when the atomic bomb was detonated 600 meters above Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. It was thus one of the closest schools to the explosion, and 160 students and 16 staff lost their lives, while the wooden school buildings were instantly reduced to splinters and consumed by flames. Only the reinforced concrete shell of the school’s west wing survived.
After the bombing, the remains of the school were used as a shelter and temporary hospital for the victims. After renovations, the school reopened its doors in May 1946. The school continued to operate in the buildings until 2000, after which it had to be demolished.
During the demolition, messages written on the school’s walls by survivors from 1945 were discovered, and so Fukuro-machi School was preserved. It was opened as a museum in 2002 to preserve and display these messages as well as other effects from the bombing.
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